“When legislators voted to attract and retain talented state employees, those funds were supposed to go to the law enforcement officers who keep us safe, the engineers who clean up and prevent spills that threaten our land and water, and those who provide critical services like mental health and addiction counseling in communities across the state,” said Sen. Schneider. “It is abuse of that well-meaning initiative for the Governor to give a $31,960 bonus to his Chief of Staff and tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer-funded bonuses to some of the more highly paid political appointees in state government.”

“Our public employees dedicate their lives to serving North Dakota, and for that they should be commended,” said Rep. Onstad. “While retention bonuses to these folks are certainly warranted, they also demonstrate the inability of our current​ legislature to provide public servants with the pay they deserve for the work they do. We can, and should, do better to let our public employees know that we appreciate everything they do for our communities. Instead, the Governor decided to give five people nearly $100,000, including ​a bonus ​to his Chief of Staff that is about the same as the ​starting ​annual salary​ of a teacher in North Dakota.”